Chinese Olympic champion visits Taipei university for table tennis exchange

Taipei, Nov. 29 (CNA) Six-time Olympic table tennis champion Ma Long (馬龍) visited Chinese Culture University (CCU) in Taipei on Friday as part of an effort to promote friendship and exchanges between Taiwanese and Chinese athletes.

Ma is among a group of 40 Chinese college students and faculty members who arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday for a nine-day trip at the invitation of a foundation established by former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).

During his CCU tour, Ma Long traded a few strokes on the paddle with Ma Ying-jeou before engaging in a friendly match with Taiwan's female paddler Chen Szu-yu (陳思羽) and veteran table tennis player Chiang Peng-lung (蔣澎龍), both whom are CCU alumni.

"I was very happy to have opened the match with Mr. Ma Ying-jeou," the Olympian said, thanking him for the invitation while revealing that he had always wanted to visit Taiwan.

"It's my first time being here and I'm extremely happy and grateful for the opportunity," he added.

The 36-year-old Olympic champion later praised Chen and Chiang, who had previously represented Taiwan at the Olympics, for their accomplishments at the world's table tennis stage and for helping drive the passion for the sport in Taiwan.

"It is probably because of them that there are people like Lin Yun-ju (林昀儒) and Cheng I-ching (鄭怡靜) today," he said, referring to Taiwan's younger generation of table tennis stars.

The Chinese paddler also said that he was aware Taiwan had recently won the World Baseball Softball Confederation's Premier12 Championship.

There might be opportunities for a baseball exchange between the two sides in the future, something he "very much looks forward to," Ma Long added.

Earlier Friday, the Chinese student group visited National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University's Yangming campus in Taipei for a musical exchange, during which two of its students from Tsinghua University in Beijing and Fujian Normal University performed the violin and hulusi, also known as a gourd flute, in front of a Taiwanese crowd.

Li Zesen (李澤森), who played the "Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto" (梁祝小提琴協奏曲), said music is a good bridge of communication, and that as long as people have a "favorite repertoire, performer or singer, they can make friends."

Yu Shuhan (于書涵) said hulusi is a wind instrument that originated from China's Yunnan Province and is not played by many, expressing hope that more Taiwanese people can learn about it.

According to Ma Long, the group will visit the National Palace Museum and the Sun Moon Lake, two popular tourist destinations in Taiwan, before concluding the Taiwan trip on Dec. 5.